


And we´re all stuck inside

by mountain_spiderling



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: As do we, But I swear it´s not graphic, But we do nOT like THAT part of canon no siree, Cannot believe I left out a bunch of tags I´m sorry, Coronavirus, Driven up the wall by his kids but oh well, Gen, I CANNOT STOP SAYING "HIS KIDS" BECAUSE HE´S SUCH A DAD AND THAT MAKES ME HAPPY OKAY, I don´t know what this is but I swear I tried, I faint at anything lol, I just need to vent I´m venting, Irondad, Is that even a tag now, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Please stay inside if you can!, They love him, This is Endgame compliant, This is my way of coping with what´s going on, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony´s alive and okay as he should be, peter gets stabbed, so uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23607781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mountain_spiderling/pseuds/mountain_spiderling
Summary: "He was out there feeling like life had finally decided to give him a break. There was little else in it that could be better (how could it be, if both Peter and Morgan were with him now?)And then, obviously, everything had gone to shit."Or, Morgan wants a goat, Peter gets a little stressed out, and Tony´s just trying to be there for his kids with the latest global crisis going on outside. He´ll manage. Hopefully.
Relationships: May Parker - Relationship, Pepper Potts - Relationship, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 11
Kudos: 90





	1. Mr C-19 and the goat invasion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [peterstank](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peterstank/gifts).



> It is late and I have no idea what I´m doing, but I do genuinely want to say I don´t mean for any of this to be offensive. I know the situation is something to be taken really seriously, but hopefully this silly thing can make someone smile or feel less alone. I think we need more of that right now. Please stay safe and stay strong everyone!
> 
> also, this is for peterstank because I know I´ve only ever talked to you in comments but you´re literally one of the best writers out there and your works have just. freakin. torn me apart in the best way possible EVERY TIME and I know nothing I write will ever even come close to being as good as your absolute sunbeam of a quarantine fic but you were what inspired me to try and write my own so uh please don´t cringe too hard at this? *gently shoves this at you and runs away*

As much as he vehemently tried to deny it whenever the topic came up (usually in the form of Peter or Rhodey´s teasing tone) Tony knew he was old. There was no point refusing it now. If 15 years ago somebody’d told him one day he´d actually be _relishing_ retirement, he´d have laughed in their faces and said he hoped they got better soon because boy, did they need a doctor. But the truth is, after what seemed like the end of the world (and it looked like it to him, for a long time), retirement wasn´t half bad.

Yeah, some things had _sucked_ major butt the months after the whole defeating the angry alien grape fiasco went down and there were days he felt stiffer than Clint´s oldest tractor, but moments like seeing both his kids eating ice cream together for the first time, or saying something that made Pepper´s entirely beautiful features completely light up was…yeah. It really made him want to thank whoever the heck was out there he had it this good.

He was out there feeling like life had finally decided to give him a break. There was little else in it that could be better (how could it be, if both Peter and Morgan were with him now?)

And then, obviously, everything had gone to shit.

His… less than exemplary life story had allowed him to have a wide selection of unpleasant experiences. He´d seen some stuff go down in his time.

But something this big, prompting entire countries to close off their borders and force their population inside? He became a crime-fighting flying tin can practically overnight and he had less trouble accepting that than whatever awful joke 2020 was pulling on them now.

Tony had help sent out for the Chinese patients and doctors as soon as he realised how serious the virus was, and he was ranting about hand washing and sneezing into elbows to Peter long before anyone else was. But soon it wasn´t just China who needed help.

Pepper was now in charge of channelling as many resources as possible to people affected by the covid all over the world, organizing online meetings in the tower with many of their business partners to constantly come up with more ideas on what they could do.

Tony did his best to help when he could, but he was also now a little occupied with the task of teaching his insanely smart 5 year old (who could already freaking _read)_ everything she´d be learning about in school if Mr.C-19 hadn´t come knocking.

12 days, 16 colouring books, 4 play-doh sets, a bunch of simple worksheets from different subjects (he knew she was gifted, but _physics at five,_ _god_ the world was so not ready for Miss Morgan and he was going to combust-) and endless parenting websites later, Tony decided he might need some help keeping his hyperactive kiddie entertained.

Especially after he turned his back to get them a snack only to find Gerald attacking the couch cushions 5 minutes later when Morgan let him in because she was convinced he was lonely outside. He really hoped Pepper wouldn´t notice the torn cushion when she got back.

Thankfully, there was a certain Spider child he could count on to video chat every night.

Tony´d thought about trying to convince Peter and May to wait the whole thing out in the cabin with them at first, but then realised it´d be pointless trying to stop the Parkers from doing their best to help however they could in Queens.

He hadn´t been able to talk to May much because of how busy she was in the hospital, but every night before Morgan´s bedtime his anxiety quietened down a bit when they´d see Peter´s smiling face as he talked to them for a few hours through the computer.

Morgan chatted to him about her day and what she´d learned, while the kid exclaimed accordingly and asked questions in the right moments (“ _Did you know sharks don´t have_ _bones!?” ”Really? That´s so cool!” “Yeah! Their skeletons are cart- cartilnge-“ “Cartilaginous?” ”That thing!”)_

Peter would then tell her about all the cute cats and dogs he was meeting as Spiderman (crime might be relatively low but the stray animals needed help now more than ever because of the lack of people going out to feed them) and how he was filming videos doing cartwheels and cracking jokes in the hopes he´d cheer up people who were stuck at home.

He´d also show Morgan videos on what the animals of the world were up to now that humans weren´t allowed outside. She practically _screeched_ with laughter at the ones of the goat invasion in Wales (even Tony let out a chuckle at the fluffy goats making a buffet-free-for-all of the street bushes); only to immediately announce Gerald definitely needed a goat friend to keep him company.

Tony wordlessly lifted one of the ruined couch cushions so Peter could see it and rolled his eyes when the kid only burst out laughing.

Once he´d tucked Morgan in bed after she´d said about 7 enthusiastic good night´s to Peter however, the kid seemed to deflate a little. He still smiled at Tony, but he could see just how much the whole situation was wearing him out. The world had only just gotten out of a crisis to be thrown into an even bigger one. And this time, the other half of the population had to deal with it too.

There were huge bags under Peter´s eyes as they quietly discussed what could happen in the next few months, and even though Tony had no doubt in his mind the kid´s incandescent optimism would always shine through even in the worst of times…the situation was tough. Something in his voice as he told Tony how he´d stopped yet another bodega robbery made him desperately wish he was actually there to comfort him. He missed hugging his other kid.

Tonight though, something was _really_ bothering him.

Peter´s eyes were slightly dull and his smile was watery even as Morgan prattled on about what she was going to name the goat and the fun costume parties they´d have together once they could see each other again (Tony hadn´t even said yes to the darn goat yet _, jeesh_ ).

He´d mustered an almost convincing smile and blown Morgan a kiss as Tony carried her off to bed, but Tony had to do a double take when he got back and saw Peter´s downright miserable expression for a second before he realised Tony was back and forced another smile.

“Hey Mr. Stark, um I´m really sorry but I´m feeling a bit tired today, could we-?”

“Nope” Tony settled down more comfortably into the couch and crossed his arms, giving him a look. “C´me on kid, out with it. You didn´t even try to laugh at Buttinsky the goat, which by the way, I´ll never say yes to, but you know Morgan. What´s up?”

Peter´s smile morphed into something a little less forced at that. _Good._

“Buttinsky´s a terrible name for a goat, Mr.Stark”

“Heck kid, it´s a terrible name for _anything_ , but you try telling your little sister that. Don´t avoid the subject though. Are you okay? Did anything happen to May?”

Peter´s quick to reassure him, shaking his head so fast his curls go bouncing everywhere. “No no, it´s good, May´s still working but we´re both totally good, I promise”

“Then what´s wrong? You don´t exactly look like you´re having the time of your life right now buddy”

Peter raises an eyebrow at him and _oh, the sass is back._

“Is there anyone who´s actually having the time of their life right now? Because everyone´s either panicking about the virus or making memes about it. Sometimes both. Sometimes neither, for a lot of people.” Even though the words are meant to be light-hearted, the way Peter says them is not. This whole thing must really be hitting him hard today in particular for some reason.

Tony raises his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, not my best wording for the moment we´re going through. You´re right. But seriously, you know you can tell me if something´s wrong, right? Even if it´s just to complain about May´s cooking. I’m here to listen.”

There´s that expression in Peter´s eyes when he´s clearly keeping something upsetting to himself and won´t share it with Tony yet. It´s a little sad he´s gotten to see that look enough times to recognize it, but seeing it now is thankfully nowhere near as frequent as it was before the snap. Back when Tony was just a mentor to Peter. Back when he hadn´t realized just how much this kid, _his kid_ , meant to him. 

God, he was stupid back then. 5 painful years had to go by for him to realize he never wanted a world that didn´t have Peter Parker in it. Not being able to have him close now was taking a toll on him, even when he knew Peter was only a phone call away and not what he had been after Thanos.

Peter looks like he´s deciding whether to tell Tony what´s bothering him or not, but then just shakes his head slightly and makes a dismissive gesture with his hand. “Nah, it´s okay, really. I´m good. Thanks though, Mr Stark, I really appreciate it.”

 _Would be better if you actually let me know what was going on in that noggin of yours, kiddo._ Tony lets out a quiet sigh, but decides to drop the subject for now, hoping Peter comes to him when he´s ready. “Sure thing kid, always.”

A fond smile makes its way into his face when he gets an idea. “Hey, you wanna watch a movie? I´ll get Netflix up on the screen so we can both see it and keep talking at the same time.”

“Won´t Morgan miss out?”

Right on cue, FRIDAY decides to chime in with a quiet “Miss Stark is currently transitioning into stage 2 of NREM sleep. Waking her up now would not be favourable.”

“Looks like it´s your lucky day Pete. You get to choose.”

“Any film?”

“We´re not watching _Up_ again okay, you cried buckets-“

“It´s not like- you cried too!”

“I´m a grown ass man, of course I cried in the beginning sequence-“

“Wait, wait, how about Chicken Little? I haven´t watched that one in _ages._ Could we watch it?”

Tony cringes inwardly a bit, but nods dutifully and searches for Peter´s choice. He figures the kid could use something to cheer him up. Maybe he´ll tell Tony what´s bothering him if he relaxes.

Now that he thinks about it, he hasn´t seen this movie in a few years either. Morgan really liked it when she was smaller, but it´s all about Totoro and the Catbus right now. Ah yes, that particular age of childhood when you can proclaim your undying love for a character and then toss it into last week when something sparklier comes up. Wonderful.

He sees Peter wrap himself up in May´s fuzziest throw blanket and presses play.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Don´t go stabbing my heart (or side)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well.  
> Great.  
> One traumatized kid, another one currently in danger of bleeding out somewhere in Queens. Tonight just kept getting better and better, didn´t it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone know what this is, because I certainly don´t.  
> Hope you enjoy it anyway (:

Okay, it´s better than he remembers it being.

Or maybe it´s just Peter´s off-key singing that´s making him laugh so much.

_How the heck does the kid know the lyrics to every song?_

Peter´s halfway through what has to be a _stunning_ rendition of wannabe and don´t go breaking my heart at the end of the movie when there´s a series of sudden beeps coming from his side of the conversation.

Tony frowns, instantly alert. “What´s that noise?”

Peter stops singing and looks off to somewhere in the apartment “Nice! It works! Oh, okay well don´t be mad but Ned and I video chatted earlier and we uh, might have added something new to Karen´s coding? It´s nothing dangerous I swear! But there´s an exterior alarm system through her that´ll warn me if anyone´s in trouble even if I´m not in the suit as long as it´s somewhere where I can hear it.”

That´s…okay. Why didn´t he think of that before?

Oh yeah, so Peter could actually get to _sleep_ without having to worry about saving cat stuck in tree number fifty-seven.

Tony knows that´s not the only reason he´s worrying about it, but pushes those feelings down. “Peter, bud, I´m not so sure that feature´s such a good idea… plus,” he glances at the clock at the bottom of his screen. “It´s too close to your curfew now. There´s no way you´ll get back in time.”

But Peter´s already gone to put his suit on, and a few minutes later, Spiderman´s sitting in front of him. He´s nodding at something Karen´s telling him, probably the location he´s most definitely _not_ going to tonight.

“Pete-“

“It´s close by and I´ll be back soon okay? Promise. I´m sorry, but I´ve really got to go before it gets worse. I´ve got the gloves and the mask on, I´ll be fine.”

Peter shuts his laptop before Tony can say anything else, and in a second there´s only the paused movie and his own face on the screen.

He sighs and turns it off, briefly wondering if he should get FRIDAY to call Peter´s suit before deciding against it. _So much for making him relax._

_“_ FRIDAY, tell me as soon as Peter´s making his way back home.”

“ _Of course boss_ ”

He pulls out his Starkpad and heads to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. _Might as well see if there´s any work to do while I wait._

He really hopes Peter calls soon.

He gets lost in work e-mails for a while, frowning as it gets later and later. Peter doesn´t pick up when Tony calls a few minutes after his curfew, but FRIDAY assures him his vitals are steady, even if his heartbeat´s a little faster than usual. 

Every minute only helps fuel his anxiety, but he forces himself to stand back and not push the call through like he desperately wants to. He can´t risk distracting Peter right now, not when he could be in the middle of a fight.

20 minutes later it turns out his precautions did a magnificent load of _fucking nothing_.

“ _Sir, I´m detecting a distress signal from Spiderman´s A.I. He seems to have taken a hit to the lower left side of the abdomen and is currently losing enough blood to activate my emergency protocols.”_

What in the _fuck-_

_“_ Force a call through, _now_.”

_What the fuck he was fine a half hour ago! Singing and laughing and being ridiculously Peter and ridiculously fine. Seriously. What the fuck._

“H-Hey Mr.Stark” Peter´s voice catches as he struggles to breathe evenly. “Please don´t panic”

Tony almost explodes right there and then, but he sets all his focus on what he needs to do to help Peter right now. He knows from experience if he lashes out before he´s safe he´ll only make things worse. He knows this, he knows this, but his kid is out there in some street bleeding out _alone_ -

“How bad is it? And before you give me another heart attack with an “I´m okay” what the _fuck_ happened?”

“There was- this girl. And a creep. Subway station hassle, I try to web the guy up before he hurts her but he´s _fast_ for a seedy guy with a knife-“Peter lets out a small grunt of pain, but it rings like a bomb in Tony´s head. _He´s hurt he´s hurt how the fuck do I get to him-_ “´nway, point is he tried to make a grab at her and I got in the way. I got him before he could do anything else and called the police. Would have walked her home too, but she ran off while I was still trying to get the knife. But it´s oka-! “

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. ´s sending me your location. I´m on my way.”

“No, wait! Mr. Stark you know you can´t go out-”

“I wouldn´t _have to_ if my kid had just decided to stay home like I told him to instead of going out and getting himself stabbed!” Tony goes tearing into the workshop, desperately knocking over everything until he finds his watch, activating the Iron man suit.

“FRIDAY, make sure all security protocols are functioning everywhere around the house. If Morgan wakes up tell her I-“

“Daddy?”

_Shit._

He whirls around in time to see his daughter´s eyes go wide when she sees the Iron man suit around him. She´s heard a thousand stories of how her dad used to save the day flying around in a metal suit, but he thinks this is the first time she´s actually _seen him in it_.

Well.

Great.

One traumatized kid, another one currently in danger of bleeding out somewhere in Queens. Tonight just kept getting better and better, didn´t it?

Peter´s a good distance away, even at the speed the Iron man suit can go if he bullies FRIDAY enough. Pepper´s still at the Tower. Morgan´s looking up at him, her little brow furrowed in childish confusion as she looks up at Tony´s face and he feels like something is tearing at his insides because she looks so freaking small and he´s about to leave her all alone but Peter´s hurt out there and he feels too much, he´s feeling too much for both of them right now, but there´s only one of him and enough worries to drown in if he doesn´t do something.

He makes his way across the room to Morgan as calmly as he can and drops down to her level, making sure the look he gives her shows none of the panic that´s currently making his heart go bonkers somewhere inside his chest.

“Hey bug. What´re you doing up?”

Morgan looks at him uncertainly. “Is Petey okay? I heard you talking to him…”

The kid´s ragged breathing all but disappears as he desperately tries to sound cheery as soon as he hears her voice. ”Hi Mo! I´m here! I´m okay, don´t worry”

Morgan perks up a bit at the sound of Peter´s voice, unconsciously looking up at the ceiling as if he was somewhere in the room with them. “Petey!”

Tony lets out a deep breath. “Petey´s in a bit of trouble right now, and I really need you to stay here while I go help him. Would you mind if I did that? I´ll get back as soon as I can, poppet, promise.”

“Actually, your dad doesn´t have to come for me at all-“

Morgan bites her lip, remembering why she was nervous again. “Aren´t we not supposed to go outside?” and her eyes are so wide and trusting, and Tony feels like absolute shit for leaving his 5 year old home alone, but he can´t take her and carry two kids back, not if Peter´s injured. She has to stay here.

“We´ll be fine as long as we don´t see anyone else. And we´ve both got super suits, remember? No nasty virus is getting through to us tonight. Uncle Steve doesn´t have it, and he´s like. Dinosaur-old.” Tony makes a face, making Morgan giggle.

She carries her back to her bedroom quickly, promising he´ll be back soon again.

“Night Morgan, don´t let the bed bugs bite!” Peter still sounds cheery, but his breathing is heavier than a few minutes ago. _One kid safe, one to go._

_If Peter´s still talking, he´s going to be okay. He´s got to be._

Metal closes in around his body, and he tells FRIDAY to floor it.

“You tried to _swing from buildings_ after you got stabbed!?”

“I mean, maybe? It´s not like I was going to stay there when the cops pulled up to get knife guy now, was I?”

Tony can´t even-

After making it to Peter in less than 20 minutes, positively sagging with relief when he found him propped up against a wall in some alleyway pulling a face as he pressed a bloodied hand to his side, Tony realised he might have overreacted. A bit.

Peter had actually been right for once, and the wound wasn´t as deep as he´d initially feared. His freaky spider healing was already taking care of it by the time he got there, so while it must have hurt like a bitch while it was still piecing itself back together, the wound itself wasn´t actually life-threatening.

If only his heart could take the hint 2 hours later.

Tony figured he could take Peter back to the cabin to at least get his side bandaged, but the kid had said he´d rather just go back home and he could patch himself up.

Yeah, like that was gonna happen.

But Tony compromised. He didn´t drag Peter´s sorry butt all the way to the cabin, but he did end up carrying him the short distance to May´s apartment

_(“Mr. Stark I swear to god, I´m literally healing right this second, I can swing! I´m fine!” “Oh I´m sorry, I can´t hear you over the 10 simultaneous heart attacks you gave me earlier. Payback kid, now quit jiggling before I drop you. We´re almost there.”)_

_Thankfully,_ May wasn´t home yet, so she wouldn´t freak out until Peter´s side did not in fact, have a gaping hole sprouting blood everywhere anymore.

Tony asked FRIDAY how Morgan was doing, wondering if she was even still awake, but FRIDAY had just confirmed she´d actually been able to properly go to sleep a few minutes after Tony had tucked her in bed.

Maybe it was a little excessive to clean and dress Peter´s wounds for him, but come on, he´d just had a very stressful couple of hours. If he wanted to fuss over his reckless superhero child for a little while, there wasn´t going to be much that could stop him.

He decided he definitely needed to get both kids in one place. They were both healthy, they were usually sensible ( _extreme_ emphasis on the usually), and he really just needed to have more contact than the view through a screen.

He´d spent his whole life studying and improving technology, but now he was realising as helpful as it was if used properly, there were things even his machines would never be able to replicate.

Like a hug from Peter, for example.

He could sense the kid’s slight confusion as he wrapped his arms around him carefully without warning, but soon he was just melting into the hug, probably having missed this as much as Tony himself had.

“Hm. Okay, yeah, it´s nice to see you too.” He mumbled into his shoulder, smiling. “This is nice. You know I´m going to be okay, right?”

“I know.” But neither one of them lets go for a long time. And let´s face it; it´s not like either one minds.

Later, Peter would tell him his thoughts had been tormenting him all day when someone left a comment on his Spider-man videos saying they were the only thing that´d made the person laugh after one of their relatives had passed away because of the virus.

Peter would look up at Tony and suddenly he wouldn´t seem like a web-slinging superhero anymore, just the kid he was, the kid he should be allowed to be.

He´d tell Tony how he felt useless some days, because bad things were out there all the time, but one thing was having the power to fight muggers or gang leaders or the occasional nutjob in a rhino suit, how he could handle that because there was something he could _do_ to keep people from being hurt, but how another very different thing was knowing there was something that was literally killing thousands by the day, and there was close to nothing he could do about it.

And Tony would be left reeling, because Peter´s greatest strength is his kindness, but that same virtue is eating him up right now. And even Iron man can´t protect his child from that.

As soon as he brings Morgan for a stay here with the Parkers, he´s going to call Bruce. T´Challa, maybe. Strange. Definitely Shuri and Cho. They´ve all got a lot to do, and he vows he´s going to do whatever it takes until this particular threat is nothing but another memory. For everyone.

But for now, he just thanks Peter for telling him, and holds him close again. There are things even they cannot really fix easily, but taking care of the smaller ones when the whole world turns upside down is okay too, he decides.

They hold on to each other, and for now, that´s enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for reading!!!! To everyone who read this mess and left a kudo or comment, just- thank you. I send you a bazillion virtual hugs and hope all is well. Things seem even crazier now but I believe we can get through this. It´ll be okay, just hang on! Love to all 💖

**Author's Note:**

> me: *searching up goat names in the middle of the night* for the fiiiiic  
> anyway, thank you for reading! Chapter 2 should be done soon, pretty please tell me what you thought of this? I´ll love you forever if you leave a comment, but if you don´t have time/don´t want to that´s okay too! Just knowing someone read this makes me feel happy. Remember to wash your hands and avoid going outside if you´re able to :)


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